The Astronomy Show 01.04.19

The Astronomy Show 01.04.19

On the Astronomy Show tomorrow I will be looking at a new idea that is changing out view of water on the Red Planet. Astronomers had published work where they believe that Mars had big rivers for millions of years and this was long after most of its atmosphere had disappeared.

I will take a good look at the spring skies that we can see over the next few weeks and of course there will be the usual look at the night sky for the next 7 nights with a close look at the Plough which at this time of year is overhead. I will also be looking at reports that people might be able to sense magnetic storms.

Other astronomy news stories include details of tiny moons found in the ring system around Saturn. The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a multi tailed active asteroid and the birth of a Great Dark Spot on Neptune. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week include in 1960 the launch of the first weather satellite and  Voyager 1 reached Jupiter in 1979. The Messier marathon is another double helping this week with M 99 and M 100 both galaxies in Coma Berenices. All this plus a round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

This will be my last Astronomy show for a couple of weeks I will be back with the next Astronomy Show on Monday 22nd April.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9. 00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

Interested in Astronomy Talks then take a look at my web site https://www.astrognome.co.uk/

The Astronomy Show 25.03.19

The Astronomy Show 25.03.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at astronomical events that rocked England, historically events such as the appearance of a comet or an eclipse of the Sun which  were used by astrologers to prevents events of doom and disaster.

I will be taking a look at the night sky over the  next 7 nights and with the clocks going forward next weekend this is the last week to see many of the winter constellations. The largest planet in the solar system Jupiter is still dominating the morning skies. I will also be looking at research that indicates that at the spring and autumn equinox there is the best chance to see aurora due to cracks in the Earth's magnetic field.

The other regular features include news that NASA may send a smallsat mission to the asteroid Pallas and that the Israeli moon lander will touch down close to Apollo landing sites. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week includes in 1811 the discovery of the Great comet and in 1991 George Alcock the famed British comet and nova hunter found his last nova. The Messier marathon has reached M98 in Coma Berenices. There will also be the usual round up of what is happening in the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can hear the Astronomy Show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to the programme later on the Drystone podcast.

The Astronomy Show 18.03.19

The Astronomy Show 18.03.19

On the Astronomy Show tonight news from NASA that a meteor exploded around 15 miles above the Bering Sea off the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula on December 18th 2018.  The explosion which had as much energy as 10 Hiroshima bombs was caused by an object only around half the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor in February 2013 which also air burst and injured around 1,000 people with flying glass due to the sonic booms that shattered windows. By good fortune this one exploded over the sea. This is the second large object in just 5 years. Is this normal or are there more lumps of rock hitting the Earth than in the past?

The regular features include the astronomy news with stories including Cosmic Ray Neutrons have been detected on high flying aeroplanes which poses the question how safe is to fly at these high altitudes for long periods. There is evidence that a major solar storm hit the Earth more than 2,000 years ago and a dust ring has been discovered in the planet Mercury's orbit.

I will be looking at what we can see in the night sky during the next 7 nights plus news that sometimes it is possible to see the planet Uranus without binoculars and how the constellation of Cancer used to be used by astronomers as an ancient weather forecasting guide.The constellation profile this week will be Canis Minor the Lesser Dog.

 The Astronomical Scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week includes the first space walk in 1965, the solar eclipse of 1140 AD which astrologers said forecast the capture of King Stephen and Edward Pigott discovered M 64 the Black Eye Galaxy in 1779. The Messier marathon is now at M 97 the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major and there will be the round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can hear the show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio Podcast.

https://www.astrognome.co.uk/

The Astronomy Show 11.03.19

The Astronomy Show 11.03.19

On the Astronomy show tomorrow night (Monday 11th March) I will be looking at news that astronomers now think the K class stars might be ones that could support planets with life. K class stars are cooler than the Sun but brighter than some of the faintest stars.

I will be looking at the night sky for the next 7 nights and there will be a new feature in this part of the show which I will be calling the Constellation Profile. I will take a close look at one of the constellations that can be seen in the sky this week.This week I will be looking at Gemini its stars and nebula and its history and myths.

The other regular features include the latest astronomy news stories including news that the first 'mole ' on Mars has hits hard objects beneath the surface of the red planet and that Ceres could have had near surface water for millions of years. There could also be another problem with the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomical scrapbook which looks at events that happened this week includes the fall of the Middlesbrough Meteorite in 1881 and the discovery of Uranus in 1781. The Messier marathon is another double helping with the galaxies M 95 and M 96 in Leo. This plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy show live every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can also hear the programme live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or hear it later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

https://www.astrognome.co.uk/

http://www.stardomeplanetarium.net

The Astronomy Show 04.03.19

The Astronomy Show 04.03.19

The Astronomy Show returns tomorrow evening (Monday 4th March) following  my cruise to Norway and the  Arctic Circle in search of the Northern Lights, and yes we saw a wonderful display of the Northern Lights which were seen by everyone on the ship.

On the Astronomy Show this week I will be looking news that a space craft launched by the Russians in 1972 to study the planet Venus and which failed to leave Earth orbit could re enter the Earth's atmosphere later this year. It was designed to survive the harsh conditions of Venus so much of the 500 kg of the craft could survive re entry.

I will take a look at  the night sky over the next 7 nights as well as a review of sunspot activity on our local star the Sun. During February there were no sun spots seen at all. The astronomy news will look at stories including astronomers have observed a solar flare from a star in the Orion nebula that was 10 billion times stronger than any flare from our Sun! The Japanese space craft Hyabusa 2 has managed to snag the asteroid Ryugu and astronomers believe that planet 9 could be discovered within the next 10 years.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week in history includes in 1792 the birth of John Herschel, in 1807 the birth of the telescope maker Thomas Cooke and in 1977 rings were discovered around the planet Uranus. The Messier marathon has reached M 94 in Canes Venatici. There will also be the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen later to the Astronomy Show on the Drystone Radio podcast.

www.stardomeplanetarium.net

www.astrognome.co.uk